Former Iowa superintendent to be sentenced for claiming to be a US citizen before likely deportation

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — old inspector The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district will learn Friday how long he will be in prison Falsely claiming to be a US citizen and illegally possessing firearms. He will probably serve his sentence before being deported.

Ian Roberts, a native of Guyana in South America, pleaded guilty in January. both countTogether, they carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. His lawyers are recommending that he be paroled “to facilitate his deportation from the United States,” but federal prosecutors are recommending that he serve 37 months — just over three years — in prison, according to court documents.

Prosecutors alleged that Roberts knowingly lacked an employment authorization for nearly his entire two-decade career in city education and submitted a fraudulent Social Security card when he was hired as superintendent of the Des Moines public school district, which serves 30,000 students.

From Roberts’ arrest on Sept. 26 to his sentencing hearing on Friday, this stunning case dominated the school year. Des Moines Public Schools he said last month He said he revised his conflict of interest policy and confirmed the findings after an audit found Roberts had outsourced district work to a consulting firm for which he worked. first reported In the weeks after federal immigration officers detained him by the Associated Press.

Roberts was targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and pulled over in his school-issued Jeep Cherokee. He allegedly escaped without being located with the help of state police. A loaded gun was wrapped in a towel under the seat and $3,000 in cash was found in the car, authorities said. During the search of his home, 3 more weapons were seized.

In a court filing, Roberts’ lawyers said he devoted his life in the United States to public service and did not pose a threat to public safety despite his failure to comply with federal law. Roberts was denied lawful permanent residence because she failed to disclose her arrest after marrying a U.S. citizen, her lawyers said. He said he didn’t need to because the charges against him were dropped.

“While Dr. Roberts attempted to change his status three more times, this first mistake by Dr. Roberts sealed his fate,” his attorneys wrote. “Against the backdrop of his career over the next 24 years, the denial of a change of status haunted Dr. Roberts like a ghost and ultimately derailed his life and career.”

Dozens of people sent letters on Roberts’ behalf to dispute how she was portrayed and detail her positive impact. His lawyers say he will likely face deportation to Guyana, where he will be “deprived of his career, his wife, and his children in a country where he has not lived for thirty years.” “While it would be the right outcome, it would also be incredibly harsh on Dr. Roberts.”

Prosecutors said Roberts “put his own interests above the law and the duty he owed to the people he served.” Prosecutors, who recommended a three-year prison sentence, cited years of deliberate misrepresentation of his legal status. They said they did not know what documentation Roberts had submitted to show his eligibility to work, dating back to 2008, years before he was approved for provisional status in 2018, but that he “intentionally sought employment from school to school, state to state, without a work permit” even though he knew he was not legally in the United States.

Prosecutors argued that this was relevant and should be taken into account in the judge’s decision on his sentence, adding that it was not appropriate to reduce the sentence simply because of the possibility of Roberts being deported.

Prosecutors wrote that Roberts “has cultivated a public image of integrity, leadership and authenticity.” But he “engaged in behavior that undermined those values.”